Trucking Companies Play Legal Games to Protect Their Profits

21 Mar 12

posted by
Arnold & Itkin

When people are injured in accidents involving 18 wheelers or tractor-trailers,
they are likely to sustain serious injury due to the size of the vehicles
involved. The victims might take comfort in thinking that, at the very
least, a large commercial trucking company would carry enough insurance
to adequately compensate them for injuries sustained, as well as pain
and suffering. Unfortunately, large trucking companies are aware of the
great liabilities they may face, and take elaborate (and sometimes ethically
questionable) steps to protect themselves from financial responsibility
related to their fleet of commercial vehicles.

Trucking companies know that if a vehicle they own, or a driver they employ, is responsible
for a serious accident, they will be expected to pay damages to the victim
or victims. To protect themselves from that possibility, large trucking
companies have been known to set up shell organizations, known as Commercial
Motor Vehicle leasing companies (CMVs) to protect their own company from
any liability. A CMV is typically established as a small body, owning
only a few trucks, and employing just the drivers of those vehicles.

Because a CMV is small, it can carry low-liability insurance. The CMV then
leases its fleet of vehicles to a larger Interstate Trucking Company (ITC),
and provides the ITC with drivers who are considered employees of the
CMV. These men and women are only independent contractors for the ITC.
All of these complex legal machinations serve one purpose: to protect
the giant trucking company from coughing up any of its profits in the
event one of their commercial vehicles causes an accident.

If an accident does occur, the ITC will claim that, as a mere renter, it
bears no liability for the accident and cannot be sued. Often, lease agreements
are designed to substantiate such claims by limiting ITC responsibility
for everything from vehicle maintenance to mandatory driver education.
If a suit is filed against the ITC, they can provide a defense stating
they have no responsibility for vehicles they merely leased, or for contractors
providing them one-time services.

The law, however, disagrees, and a well-versed attorney will be able to
refute such claims. According to the
Code of Federal Regulations:

"Employee means any operator of a commercial motor vehicle, including . . . leased
drivers and independent, owner-operator contractors (while in the course
of operating a commercial motor vehicle) who are either directly employed
by or under lease to an employer.
Employer means any person (including the United States, a State, District of Columbia
or a political subdivision of a State) who owns or leases a commercial
motor vehicle or assigns employees to operate such a vehicle."

Clearly, according to federal law, there is no legitimacy to claims made
by ITCs that state they have no responsibility for leased equipment or
contractor-drivers. If an attorney is aware of this section of the CFR,
as is the team of truck accident attorneys at Arnold & Itkin, such
claims can be quickly set aside. Attorney Jason Itkin recalls a client
who was severely injured in a collision with a large truck. Initially,
the larger truck operating company denied liability, claiming they were
only lessee's and could not be held accountable. Thanks to his familiarity
with trucking company practices and federal liability laws, Itkin was
able to hold the large ITC accountable, securing a $1.2 million settlement
on his client's behalf.

Since large trucking companies take tremendous and complex precautions
to insulate themselves against liability, many attorneys might be fooled
by such tactics as the establishment of a CMV to protect ITC assets. Only
an experienced truck accident firm understands the workings of commercial
vehicle operators and has the resources to trace shell companies and find
the truly responsible parties. At Arnold & Itkin, a truck accident
attorney from our firm has a history of success advocating on behalf of
clients injured in truck accidents. If you or a loved one has been injured
in a truck accident,
contact a truck accident lawyer from our offices today. We will be happy to provide you with a free consultation
to see if we may be of assistance in your case.

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